The domestic can opener has been popular and widely accepted as a kitchen appliance. In spite of the fact that consumers have been switching from canned to frozen foods, there are still a sufficient number of foods sold in cans for the average consumer to regard the electric can opener as one of the essential or basic electric appliances for the kitchen. The availability of high strength, molded plastics and small powerful electric motors has increased the manufacturers options insofar as styling and functions are concerned. Because of the highly competitive nature of the can opener business and the number of different suppliers involved, there has been a trend toward increasing the features or functions performed by the domestic electric can opener or attempting to in some way make the appliance more appealing to the consumer than the competitors' product. Although it is technically feasible to manufacture a very small can opener which is powerful enough to open the cans normally available to the householder, it is important that the can opener be adapted to conveniently accept even the large size cans such as those containing coffee or juice. This has resulted in many manufacturers constructing can openers which are tall and somewhat awkward looking, even though the increased height to accommodate the tall cans is only required on infrequent occasions.
This situation has prompted some manufacturers to make electric can openers which are hand operated, and therefore, need not be tall enough to accommodate the tallest cans while standing on the counter. In general, these hand operated can openers have the disadvantage that the user must hold and guide the can opener with respect to the can during the entire process of severing the lid from the can. Another approach has been to make the can opener wall mounted where it may be spaced any desired height above the counter or other obstruction. The consumer has in general not been receptive to the concept of wall mounting an appliance such as a can opener. A third general alternative is disclosed in the patent to Yamamoto, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,182 in which the can opener may be either wall mounted or stand mounted with the capacity for changing the height of the can opener to suit various conditions. The instant invention is concerned with a can opener having a simplified mechanism for adjusting the height of the can opener.